Chiloquin, Oregon
27. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
After a surprisingly good sleep in a dodgy hotel, we continued our way south towards Crater Lake National Park. One thing we've noticed is how the days generally start cloudy, but then burn off to make a beautiful day. Since we'd enjoyed downtown so much yesterday, we wandered back down this morning to find a nice place for breakfast. We settled on a pub that served some decent French toast, as well as a riverside cafe that seemed to be experts in coffee.
We left around 9.30am and stopped at a few towns on the way for petrol and groceries, particularly since we weren't sure what would be available closer to our accommodation. The place we are staying is from Airbnb. It is a cabin style accommodation rented out by a lady named Beth, and is much more reasonably priced than the other options in the area. Even though the roof is low due to it being a sloped roof, it had everything we needed.
There also had three Australian Shepherd dogs who were a bit wary of strangers! Beth was able to give us a lot of information regarding the sights to see, so we were definitely prepared for the day. We headed straight to Crater Lake National Park, which was our whole reason for visiting this area. The weather was spectacular, and we were very lucky to be treated to unparalleled views of the lake. The lake is actually a dormant volcano, and has some of the bluest water we've seen.
We drove the entire way around the lake, stopping at every viewpoint we thought would give a better view than the previous one. As it was getting later in the day, we also went to check out the Crater Lake Lodge which had a beautiful view out back of the lake, complete with deck chairs. The only thing missing was the beers.
Beth had recommended that we drive to nearby Henzel Park for a view of the sunset over the lake. Not great! Despite the fact there was one car idling strangely nearby, there were also a thousand bugs (we were too scared to open our mouths!). We feigned taking a few photos before leaving to check out nearby Chiloquin. Eye opener! It is literally a run down railroad town, complete with boarded up shops and a lot of bored teenagers standing around. We did surprisingly find a decent supermarket, meaning we didn't need to stop at all those roadside general stores on the way!
Since one of the town's "attractions" was the casino, we thought we would check it out. Meh. We put $5 into one of the poker machines before losing total interest and leaving. Truly the redneck part of Oregon here!
The best option was to go back to our cabin and chill. There were a few bugs in the room but they seemed to leave once we turned off the outside lights. Less pleasant though were the bugs in my hair that surfaced when I washed it. A little keepsake from Henzel Park it seemed!
Tomorrow we have another day here to explore the area. Whilst we'll give Chiloquin a wide berth, there should be more to see near the National Park.Lue lisää
Florence, Oregon
26. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
After a surprisingly good sleep in a mediocre hotel, I went to have some of the supplied breakfast (basically bagels and coffee in the tiny reception area). Newport wasn't quite as good as we thought it would be, so we have higher hopes for the next few destinations. After packing up all the drying laundry we had scattered around the room, we continued on our way!
Our first stop was a viewpoint to look at the Yaquina Bay Bridge. The misty environment made it an awesome photo stop, and it was well worth it. Our drive today took us along Cape Perpetua to the town of Yachats. I'm not really sure why I listed it as a place worth visiting, as it was a pretty sleepy venue. At least it was good for a bathroom stop.
The coast scenery we saw today was wonderful, and the weather was too. When we reached our stop at the town of Florence, we weren't that impressed. The Lighthouse Inn where we are staying is modest luxury...from the 1920's. And I don't think it has been renovated or repaired since. You could probably call it quaint, but we preferred to say run-down. Since there only seemed to be the main road with a Dairy Queen next door, we jumped back in the car and headed to nearby Coos Bay.
Even though the town wasn't overly interesting, it was fortunate that we arrived during the - I kid you not - Blackberry Arts Festival! There were some nice street markets selling plenty of products, some of them involving blackberries. The blackberry pie was totally worth it.
Apart from an antique shop, there wasn't much more of interest nearby, so we drove further south to nearby Shore Acres State Park. Shore Acres was originally an estate owned by a Coos County timber baron who sold the land to the State of Oregon for use as a park in 1942. Now it is an assortment of gardens with beautiful shore-side scenery. And again, the weather was perfect.
After finishing here we decided we'd have to eventually return to Florence! Our room was huge but the cleanliness was debatable. We walked to the area behind the hotel where we could see some amazing sand dunes, located across from a now derelict waterfront restaurant. It reminded us of a ghost town. After some more wandering around, we eventually found the road that the hotel clerk said would lead us to the main part of town.
Clearly us and the town of Florence got off on the wrong foot. To our surprise, the street lead us to another part of town that was loaded with boutique restaurants, shops and cafes. The busy road and our hotel gave us both the wrong first impression, as we were duly impressed with all the venues along the Siuslaw River.
Considering the fact we thought Dairy Queen was the only place to buy food, we were pleasantly surprised with Florence. We went to the Bridgewater Fish House and Zebra Bar for a great afternoon of dinner and drinks before wandering around town for a bit longer. So Florence has really been the biggest surprise so far of Oregon.
We were going to walk around at night but it started to mist so we stayed in our hotel. I read an interesting brochure about what to do in a tsunami, which was somewhat unsettling! I'm not sure how we're going to sleep here though as we can hear every footstep in the room above. Tomorrow we continue to Crater Lake!Lue lisää
Newport, Oregon
25. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
After a good sleep, we collected our belongings to continue on our way again. As nice as this hotel is, one thing we found strange was how they asked us in the compendium to wash the dishes before leaving, even though we didn't have a kitchen sink! Well we did our best to tidy up but couldn't really figure out how we were expected to do that.
We decided to check out nearby Astoria before continuing down the coast, which was my idea as it's the town setting for the movie "The Goonies". Thanks to the internet, it was easy to find the film locations, and an in-car GPS makes it even easier. Whilst some locations like the Flavel House Museum and the Oregon Film Museum were easy to access, others such as Mikey's house were blocked off from the public. There was a sign at the end of the long driveway advising the police would be called if anyone tried to photograph the house. Therefore, we decided to move on!
I hadn't read anything about the Astoria Column, but Ted saw it from town and thought we should check it out. Truthfully, it was amazing. Not only was the view from the top worth the admission alone, but the amount of detail on the column was awesome. We also climbed the tower and walked around the small lookout at the top before I remembered I have acrophobia and headed back down.
After leaving Astoria, we headed back on the coast road south towards Newport, which included taking another picture of Haystack Rock from a different viewpoint. For some unknown reason, the GPS took us off the coast road to drive us through the middle of the countryside instead. Therefore we ended up seeing the underwhelming town of Garibaldi (right in the middle of cow country!) before stopping for lunch at a local Denny's.
On the way we stopped at the natural blowhole Devil's Punchbowl, before continuing onto Newport. Newport ended up being somewhat plain, as it seemed to be little more than a busy road going through an industrial area. After checking into our hotel, we walked down to nearby Nye Beach which was a bit better.
We stayed in Nye Beach for dinner at an Irish pub, as finding an inexpensive venue with a water view was an impossibility! One thing we have noticed about this town though is the abundance of blackberries growing everywhere. Since there didn't seem to be any memorable nightlife here, our evening was spent either watching TV (Ted), or doing laundry (me). Tomorrow we continue onto the town of Florence.Lue lisää
Seaside, Oregon
24. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We woke up at 6.15am today, as we need to transfer from the port back to Seattle King Street station for the next part of our holiday. We had an early breakfast before heading around to Woody and Stephen's cabin to say farewell to them. Stephen must've misheard what time I said we would be there, because they had both barely gotten out of bed! We gave them time to get themselves together before heading back again to say goodbye.
After disembarking the ship, we walked towards the Uber pick-up area to catch a ride to the train station. The walk was quite a long way from the port, but it was easy once we arrived. Our driver was from Mexico, so I had a lot of fun practicing my Spanish abilities with him. Surprisingly the traffic in Seattle was good, and we ended up arriving in plenty of time to the station.
I had been looking forward to this part of our trip, as I'd purchased Business Class seats on the Coast Starlight. Clearly I was blinded by the words "Business Class", because it was rubbish! The train was surprisingly old and run-down, and the so-called "business class seats" were up against a wall with no tray table or seat pocket. Thankfully Ted found some better seats towards the back, which I really appreciated because I was so P.O'd!
The one decent thing though is that we were on the upper deck, giving us a better view. We were also right near the dining room, and the observation room, which had huge overhead windows to enjoy the scenery. Since the weather today wasn't that great, we were more than happy with the view from our seats.
We booked in for lunch in the dining room, which operated on a somewhat regimented system, where you wouldn't dare enter the dining room unless you were called first! The meal itself was pretty mediocre, however it was nice talking to two people we were seated with - an older lady from Seattle, and a middle aged comic book guy.
When we arrived at Portland, the train station was located in a pretty grungy area, so we were happy to move through it quickly to reach the Hertz office. The service was very good, and we received our car very quickly. We left Portland straight afterwards for our drive to the coastal city of Seaside.
The drive through the green countryside was really nice. We arrived at the Seaside Inn, which is like a holiday hotel on the Pacific coast. Seaside is very laid-back, scenic and relaxed. It's also pleasant to have the mountains on one side, and the beach on the other. The only unsettling thing though are all the signs indicating we're in a tsunami hazard zone. Definitely something I haven't seen before outside of Asia.
Ted and I walked along the boardwalk before arriving into town. The buildings along the water are very art-deco, and I found it really interesting that the local cinema was showing the original "Jaws" movie. We then went to the local supermarket to get some food for dinner before heading back to our hotel.
Ted was interested in going for a drive so I suggested we head south to see Haystack Rock at sunset. That was a good decision because it was spectacular. We actually drove into a beachside hotel's car park to get the best photo opportunity, but decided not to stay for too long in case our rental car was towed away!
We stayed for a short while longer walking along the beach before heading back. Ted was interested in going to a local venue, so we headed to nearby Astoria to see what we could find. Ted had read on the internet about the Triangle Tavern, so once we parked, we headed across the busy road to check it out.
Well, the information Ted had read was misleading - if anything, the Triangle Tavern was more like some sort of maritime bikie bar! When we entered and saw a lot of heavy-set bearded guys and thought we were in the right place. Uh no, we weren't!
After having one drink, we decided to head back. Tomorrow we have a short drive down to Newport, as I've tried to create an itinerary where we aren't spending our whole time inside the car.Lue lisää
Victoria, British Columbia
23. elokuuta 2018, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
I've continued having these simpler breakfasts every morning now, showing you can sometimes have too much of a good thing! Today is our second last day on the cruise before our arrival back in Seattle tomorrow. We had to start packing up again for the next part of our journey, although we're just going to walk off with our suitcase, rather than wait forever for baggage services to deliver it.
When we looked out of our cabin window, we thought there was a lot of fog. As it turned out, it was smoke again, meaning we're near Canada. I thought I would try trivia again, so after a snack of waffles, headed off to give it a go. There weren't as many comments from the peanut gallery this time, although I didn't end up winning either! But I like the thrill of competition too.
We had lunch with the Welsh guys Andy and Craig before our arrival into Victoria. We had already arranged with our party of eight to explore Victoria together, so we first went to (where else?) for drinks before disembarking. We originally had a party of ten, but we haven't been able to locate the Canadian boys lately. We suspect they might have received a better offer!
Victoria ended up being quite contrasting. When we disembarked, we first walked through a nice seaside neighbourhood, with a lot of fancy houses and gardens. As we arrived into the city, we were similarly pleased with the Downtown area, and got some great pictures of the Legislative Assembly and the Fairmont.
As we went further into town though, it tended to go downhill somewhat. Maybe we just wandered offtrack, but the harbor area we ended up in wasn't particularly attractive or appealing. By this stage, we were happy enough to head back to the ship.
After having dinner upstairs, we returned to our room to finish packing. We said goodbye to Chris and Andrew, and Craig and Andy before going to bed. It will be sad to leave our new friends, but it will also be great to continue on the next half of our holiday, as we travel around the state of Oregon.Lue lisää
At sea
22. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Today was another ship day, so once again we were scouring the daily program trying to find something to do during the day! Apart from the occasional mediocre trivia contest, there wasn't much that interested us, so most of the day was spent chilling and hanging out with our ship mates.
Our day started pretty early as I was convinced I could hear music and feel vibrations from our room. Through further investigation, I found that it was actually coming from the auditions in the theatre, which were loud enough to be felt in our cabin. Not extremely loud by any means but definitely noticeable.
We lost an hour today due to time zones, so at least the ship day wasn't excessively long! Breakfast was really crowded since everyone had nowhere else to go, and Ted and I went to check out the photo galleries afterwards. We caught up for lunch with Stephen and Woody and on the way back to our cabin, Ted tried to play a trick on me. When he ran ahead, I suspected he was hiding behind the wall to try and scare me. Sure enough, I waited for a couple to walk by first, only to hear Ted scare them and then have to apologise for his attempt.
We caught up with the boys again to play cards (no espresso martinis this time!) before having a small snack and heading back to get ready for dinner. In the evening we had planned on having a formal dinner with our party of eight, especially since we hadn't had one previously.
We all dressed up in our Sunday best, but first went to The Martini Bar before heading to dinner. Ted and I felt slightly overdressed since we were the only couple wearing ties! Fortunately for our group, there was a photographer nearby to capture how handsome we all looked that evening :-)
Dinner ended up being really good - we had become so accustomed to the buffet, that it was nice to have something fancy for a change. It was a bit harder for Ted though with his diabetic requirements, but we ended up going to the buffet afterwards so he would be okay. After dinner, we all headed off to tonight's show in the theatre. Ten minutes later, we all walked back out again! Sadly, the Rock City show wasn't quite as entertaining as the other show we saw.
Afterwards, a few of us went to have a few drinks, before having a relatively early night. After all the previous nights we've had, I think it was definitely needed!Lue lisää
Skagway, Alaska
21. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
The novelty of having all these buffet breakfasts has worn off, as today I was craving only porridge. I didn't think I'd ever get sick of all the sauteed mushrooms and baked potatoes but I guess you can have too much of a good thing! At breakfast I spoke to a gentleman who confirmed that the Northern Lights didn't end up appearing last night, so at least I didn't wait up all night to see nothing.
Most of our group had plans in Skagway but since most of them were so expensive, Ted and I decided to walk around and see what we could find. The most popular option seemed to be the train tour but it was way too pricey. After a short walk into town, we looked around the area just to check out what was available.
We signed up for a walking tour with the Tourist Information office which seemed to be the only thing on offer. After some more exploring, we found a tour company that offered bus tours to the same Yukon territory where the train went. It seemed like a great option so we signed up for it.
As we needed our passports for the tour, I had to return to our cabin to get them. I think I misjudged how long it would take, as I ended up running most of the way. Just as I reached the gangplank, I was then told it was only for disembarking - I needed to use another one further away! (Our ship was coincidentally also the furthest one away too). After saying "excuse me" and "sorry" enough times, I managed to finally make it to the bus pick up area, totally puffed out, but with our passports in hand!
The tour ended up being better than expected, particularly since Alaska again turned on a beautiful day. Despite all my running, the bus tour left late anyway. The majority of the passengers were Aussies and our driver Beverly was really engaging. Firstly we did a quick tour of the town, where she was happy to point out many houses of, as she put it, "negotiable affection"! We then headed along the Klondike Highway towards the White Pass Summit.
Some of the highlights included the Tormented Valley, Summit Lake and Lake Tutshi, as well as the Yukon Suspension Bridge. At the latter, we had a comfort stop as well as buying coffee and some dill pickle chips (not likely to find them elsewhere in the world)! The fact we have 20-22 hours of daylight here makes the days seem even better.
Apparently there have been a lot of bushfires here in Alaska too, but it certainly didn't impact our day in any way. It's hard to say whether the bus ride is better than the train since we haven't done both, but we were very happy we did this. I'm pretty sure it was better than our walking tour of Skagway would have been! :-)
Whilst we were in town, we went to the Skagway Pub for lunch. I had fish tacos, which were pretty small servings. The beer was good though. As the afternoon continued, some clouds rolled in and, for the first time ever on this holiday, we had some wind and rain. It didn't matter though - Ted and I were already walking back to the ship so it didn't ruin our day in any way!
After having a snooze, we caught up with Stephen and Woody for dinner before heading off to our favourite venue on the ship, the Martini Bar. We even managed to meet some of the travellers from the Pied Piper group there too. After a great day, we all went up to the Sky Lounge for some dancing and drinking before heading off to bed.Lue lisää
Juneau, Alaska
20. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
We were greeted this morning with scenery right outside our window, as the cruise ship passed along the Inside Passage on the way to Juneau. This was just one of the reasons why we'd chosen a balcony room for this cruise. The scenery was worth the cost alone, and we could still enjoy it from the dining room.
I had been feeling sick during some the night - probably from the espresso martinis! - which continued through some of the morning. The day was actually really warm which made me regret wearing a singlet, under the naive assumption that Alaska would be cold. We disembarked the boat with Woody and Stephen for the short walk into town.
The town of Juneau was actually quite pleasant, and larger than Ketchikan. I had read previously on the internet that there was a public bus that would take us to the Mendenhall Glacier. As it turned out, the drivers at the bus station were far from helpful providing information about routes or which bus to catch. We even tried using Uber but it didn't seem to exist here.
I went into a nearby Four Points Sheraton hotel where the concierge was a lot more helpful - he told me about a shuttle bus that cost about $40, went there in half the time and had more frequent schedules. The amount of extra money was worth it, so we took this option instead. We were glad we did - the trip was quick and the driver provided some great commentary.
The glacier was definitely a worthwhile day trip. We managed to get some great photos without too many tourists getting in the way too. The walk to the glacier was interesting - it was on a raised walkway mainly due to bear activity. And sure enough, we walked past a mother bear and her cubs. Unfortunately they aren't exactly outgoing animals as they stayed behind a group of trees and bushes. Despite best efforts to get a photo of them, we weren't so lucky!
We then walked to nearby Nugget Falls which, despite the sign saying the walk was over half an hour, we did in 10 minutes. The waterfall was worth seeing, as it also provided a closer viewpoint of the nearby glacier. It was a relief that we found a way to see them both as I was feeling guilty that my original plan didn't work!
We then caught the shuttle bus back, where the driver offered to drive us all the way back to our cruise ship. Unfortunately for me, I was interested in seeing more of Juneau and maybe going up the funicular, but I didn't want to be the difficult one in the group. The four of us ended up having an early dinner on the back deck of the ship before relaxing in our rooms.
As I was walking around the ship later that night, there were people talking about the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights. I was really interested in seeing them, as I missed the opportunity to see them when I visited northern Finland 20 years ago. After walking around on the top deck in the cold for a while, we were then told they might not come out until 2am. Realising it could have been a pointless venture, I went back to the room, but kept the curtains open all night just in case!Lue lisää
Ketchikan, Alaska
19. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Today we visited our first port of call on our cruise - the town of Ketchikan. Our boat arrived at about 7.00am, although we went to the buffet breakfast before disembarking. Ketchikan is not a very big town and we didn't have any specific plans, so we went out to explore on our own.
The weather was surprisingly fine, and a very pleasant day. Finding wifi was impossible though - everywhere requires a password (obviously to stop tourists from using it for free!), so we decided to finally buy a SIM card.
We walked along the famous Creek Road with its colourful buildings, but they were generally either a shop, a restaurant, or a former brothel. One amazing sight was a nearby river which seemed to be bursting with salmon. We'd never seen so many fish congregate in one area before.
We were pretty interested in the local cannabis shop, which is clearly a new thing for us. It was very interesting - we really didn't know anything about it, and seeing a lot of their products and the wide range available was something new. For me personally, learning about the different medicinal reasons too was an eye opener.
Around the middle of the day, we went back to the cruise ship and had lunch with Stephen and Woody before heading up to the sun deck for our departure from Ketchikan. We ended up enjoying the jacuzzi with beers in the adults pool section before going to dinner.
One of the highlights was seeing some humpback whales on the side of the boat. We tried to see them from the dining room after dinner, but it made more sense to get the better view from the top deck. As you can imagine, this was very popular with everyone, and we were very lucky to see a whole school of them very close to the boat,
Later in the evening, we went to the Martini Bar with the friends we have made so far on the cruise. We have been very fortunate to meet some great people, meaning the cruise has really gone very well so far.Lue lisää
At sea
18. elokuuta 2018, Coastal Waters Of Southeast Alaska And British Columbia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Crossing all these time zones seems to be confusing our Iphones - when we checked the time in our darkened cabin this morning, it claimed it was 1pm (even though it was 8am). Today was our first ship day, so we tried to make the most of the resources the ship has. Breakfast this morning was pretty mediocre, so hopefully this isn't a representation of all the food on this cruise!
We spent most of the morning relaxing by the heated (and kid free) pool. Ted was feeling a bit sick, so he went back to the room to recover. I went to trivia as it's something I usually enjoy. Unfortunately this time I didn't because there seemed to be an abundance of people who decided to shout out the answers. I hate when a good competition is ruined!
Steve brought some walkie talkies on the cruise so we had a way of communicating whilst on board. Unfortunately they didn't work as planned but we still managed to meet up for cards. Some girls nearby recommended we drink some espresso martinis, so we tried a few. However it ended up being a few too many as they were a lot more potent than they seemed!
We ended up having dinner at the buffet later in the evening, and then eight of us (sans the Canadians) went to see a Circus De Soleil type show. We haven't seen any shows on the cruise yet and we definitely enjoyed it. As we were leaving the show, the staff at the Quasar Bar roped people inside to the silent disco. We'd never been to one before and it was great. Although I had to remind Ted to take his headphones off so he'd stop yelling at the wait staff!
Our group later went for drinks at the bar. Since arriving we haven't seen anyone from the "Pied Piper" tour and we're starting to wonder if they're actually on board!Lue lisää
At sea
17. elokuuta 2018, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
After a pretty good sleep, Ted and I packed up the rest of our things for our cruise today. After breakfast and a coffee at the cafe I discovered around the corner, we called an Uber to drop us off at the cruise ship terminal. The Uber driver needed to go around a few times since he didn't seem familiar with where to take us, but between the three of us, we figured it out eventually.
The Florida boys ended up staying out later last night after they found another bar nearby. They messaged us to join them but we were already asleep by that stage. The check-in process at the port was actually quite speedy but as the agents kept calling out "passports out please", we remembered the boys telling us they couldn't bring them as they weren't yet ready. Even though the cruise ship company had told them they only needed ID, we wondered if they would make it onboard! And with no data roaming on our phones, we couldn't contact them to check.
After boarding, Ted and I went to get a buffet lunch in the restaurant first. We ended up seeing the guys in the dining room afterwards, which was a relief! After taking some time to explore the ship, we then each had to go to our own muster stations (ours was in the theatre) to watch a surprisingly entertaining evacuation video. Ted and I then went for a snooze before going upstairs for a sailaway mai tai from the top deck.
As there was an LGBTQ meet-up tonight, we planned to go with the guys to meet any other similar people onboard. There is a tour company named "Pied Piper" that has an organised tour of LGBTQ travelers, so we thought some may turn up. We found out later they had their own function at the same time but it didn't matter - we met Andy and Craig from Wales, Mike and Patrick from Vancouver, and Chris and Andrew from Orlando. We are all a similar age, and the ten of us got along very well.
So far, the cruise has been great as we were lucky to meet some wonderful people the first night. We're looking forward to what lies ahead!Lue lisää
Seattle, Washington
16. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
After a surprisingly decent sleep (even with the cat wandering around), we had breakfast and made plans for the day. It started with the ever exciting chore of doing laundry, which wasn't made easy considering I didn't have enough quarters (what I thought were quarters were actually Canadian coins). I ran around trying to find a business that was open, which was easier said than done since most weren't (so unlike Sydney). Eventually I found a cafe that was operating in an otherwise sleepy neighborhood.
We aren't used to living with a cat - much less a smelly one! - so changing kitty litter is something of a new experience for us. We headed off to the library to print some last minute documents, only to find it still wasn't open, and decided instead to catch up with Woody and Stephen who arrived late last night and are staying in a hotel nearby.
It was really good to see them - we met several years back in Montreal, and have similarly caught up with them at their place in Fort Lauderdale. We had arranged to visit the Boeing factory with them in nearby Everett, so we organised an Uber for the trip there.
Being in aviation, Ted and I were both interested in seeing the factory, and were happy that the Florida boys were similarly keen. The tour itself was very interesting but to be honest, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought it would involve looking through aeroplanes, but it was more about observing the enormous workshops from above. It was still worth a visit and I was happy to buy a Boeing T-Shirt in the souvenir shop. The only downside was the closure of the observation deck, but it was still an enjoyable experience.
After catching an Uber back to Capitol Hill, the Florida boys recommended getting some lunch in the street near our apartment. We settled on a cheap Mexican venue before we each headed back to our respective accommodations to relax. We were all interested in catching up for a drink in the evening too.
The guys came to meet us at our apartment first for a drink before heading out. We again went to C.C. Attles for a few drinks before heading back around midnight. Our cruise starts tomorrow!Lue lisää
Seattle, Washington
15. elokuuta 2018, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Today was our first early start since leaving Australia, as we had our 4+ hour train ride to Seattle. Since Uber doesn't seem to exist in Canada, I booked an early taxi online last night. The service (unlike Sydney) was extremely efficient and reliable, as the driver early and got us to the station in plenty of time.
This was one of the first times we'd used a train in the USA for a long time, so we weren't 100% sure how to check in! Fortunately the staff were pretty good and the agent even put us in "business class" (just nicer seats in Economy)! Even though the train ride was long, the time seemed to go quickly. We went to the dining car and got some snacks and coffee for the trip, and there was also the occasional commentary along the way.
Once arriving in Seattle, we waited for our bag and headed off to find the train to Capitol Hill. Even though I had printed directions, we still managed to get a bit confused and needed to ask for directions. Once we found the station though, getting to Capitol Hill was easy, as was the walk to our accommodation.
As the accommodation in Seattle was pretty expensive, we decided to stay at an AirBnb. The neighborhood was great - somewhat grungy but with a lot of character too. The apartment however is different! It is a very quirky, grandma style apartment, owned by a showgirl with very eclectic tastes. Whether it was the pictures of the topless Hollywood starlets or the poster of Disney characters copulating, it will still an experience.
Even more interesting was the resident house cat Kitty Paws. Maybe we misunderstood the apartment requirements but we didn't realise that we needed to change the kitty litter daily too! We put it all down to part of the experience, and headed out to enjoy the warm day.
Ted was interested in finding a Cheesecake Factory and fortunately we found one. Ordering was a chore though as the menu is enormous! The food is always wonderful though, and Ted was really happy they had an artificial sweetener cheesecake too. We then headed towards the Pike Place Market, an area we hadn't seen before.
I really liked the whole crazy atmosphere of the Market. It gave you a real feeling of a Seattle farmer's market, with a sense of history and nostalgia as well. I was interested in seeing the world's first Starbucks too which was only a few streets away. I'm always wanting to see anything that contributes to modern day history, even if it does serve the world's worst coffee!
As the sale of our apartment is still ongoing, we needed to find a library in Capitol Hill to send off some more documents. We bought some groceries before heading back to our apartment for a night out. We settled on a local venue called C.C. Attles which was a relaxed bear bar. Tomorrow we catch up with our friends Stephen and Woody from Fort Lauderdale who will be joining us on the cruise.Lue lisää
Whistler, British Columbia
14. elokuuta 2018, Kanada ⋅ 🌫 22 °C
We were both suffering a bit of jet lag last night so we ended up waking quite early. We received the news that we've been given an offer on our apartment back home we're trying to sell, meaning Ted had to find a place nearby to print out all the relevant documentation. Hopefully once it's all done, it will be one less thing to worry about!
As we had our trip up to Whistler today, we took a pretty busy metro out to Burrard Station, where the buses depart from. The bus ride took about two hours but it was a pleasant enough journey. The decision we made to shorten our time in Whistler was a good one - the visibility on the way was quite poor, no doubt due to the surrounding fires.
Once we arrived, the weather was otherwise pleasant. Even though the village wasn't affected, it wasn't easy to get a view of the surrounding mountains and scenery. Ted was keen on sending off the documents in regards to the property sale, so the first place we visited was the library. Fortunately the staff there were really helpful and were able to witness and send the documents for us.
Whistler village reminded us a bit of Banff with all the shops and restaurants. We went to a local pub for lunch which was - unsurprisingly - full of Australians.There wasn't a lot of activities to do, but we didn't mind, as we just enjoyed being there. The only souvenir we bought was a T-Shirt, and we also had time to explore the nearby Olympic village area. As we were running out of things to do, we met up with our bus for the return trip home.
The female driver ended up being a lot more friendly than the male driver we had this morning! Once we arrived back in Vancouver, we caught the metro back to Commercial Drive. Since the area has a great assortment of eating venues, we settled on the Libra Room for dinner. My only mistake was asking for the local beer which ended up being the fruity kind. Ugh!
Tomorrow we have an early train ride to Seattle, which will be our departure point for the cruise. Therefore the highlight of our holiday is getting closer and closer!Lue lisää
Vancouver, British Columbia
13. elokuuta 2018, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Before going to bed, I took a sleeping tablet which I only ever use to combat jet leg, so I had an awesome sleep last night. We made breakfast in our room before walking down to the nearest train station. Fortunately for us, it takes you directly into town.
Unfortunately for me though, all that sitting on an aeroplane yesterday meant my arch enemy sciatica came back. We tried to see the sights of the city but it took a lot longer than planned, as I often had to stop and rest.
After arriving in the city, we first visited the Visitor Information Centre before heading to Stanley Park. It has been quite a few years since we visited Vancouver, and Ted was keen to see the totem poles that have made the Park famous.The surrounding parklands and lake were worth seeing too. Despite the pain I was in, it was worth seeing.
I hadn't visited Granville Island before, so we managed to work out the transportation system and catch a bus there. Whilst there, we decided to treat ourselves, and went to a third story seafood restaurant overlooking the port. We were hoping for a novel way to return to our accommodation via boat, but since there wasn't such an option, decided to take the bus and train back instead.
My sciatica was giving me all kinds of grief, so we relaxed back at our room before heading out to dinner. We like the Commercial Drive area very much - we couldn't see much last night, but during the day noticed the large number of pubs and restaurants in the area. For dinner, we headed to a cheap and cheerful Mexican restaurant named the Red Burrito.
Tomorrow we are planning to head to Whistler for the first time. There have been a lot of fires in the surrounding areas, so we've changed our return time to earlier in the day, as weather forecasts have put the area as smoky. Even so, we are looking forward to seeing somewhere new.Lue lisää
Sydney to Vancouver via Los Angeles
12. elokuuta 2018, Australia ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
Today was an early start, although not a stressful one, as our flight to Los Angeles is confirmed. This means we didn't have the stress of staff travel! Our friend Damien let us keep our car in his garage, so after driving there, we only needed to hire an Uber for the rest of the journey to the airport.
Fortunately for us, our flight on United Airlines was great. The aeroplane was only half full, meaning the majority of passengers had plenty of room to stretch out. We befriended the crew, who were good enough to give us champagne, pyjamas and comfort packs. This included the incredible Elisabeth - 84 years old, and has worked at United Airlines for 57 years.
Due to our diabetes and vegetarianism, Ted and I got our meals early, but the second meal service seemed to take forever! Maybe it was because it was a day flight, but I was ready to eat my own arm off by the time they arrived. I managed to pass the time watching A Quiet Place, Black Panther and the third Maze Runner before we arrived in Los Angeles. Another one of the Flight Attendants, Vlad, offered to help us if we though about returning home on United as well (seriously considering it)!
When we went through the LAX customs area, the queue was incredibly long but fortunately moved pretty quickly. Ted saw his friend Gaeton in the airport (another frequent traveller!) before we went outside to find our shuttle bus.
We had booked the use of a day room before our late flight to Vancouver, but since we couldn't check in until 9am, we had a coffee and muffin in the bistro until then. Even though it was still early morning in LA, we had a well deserved sleep and shower. The flight times had changed, so we ended up leaving sooner than planned for the airport.
I was starving by this time, so I bought a vegetarian burger before our Air Canada flight. The crew were similarly friendly, and fortunately our flight was not too long. Once we arrived in Vancouver, there was a long taxi queue before we could head off to our accommodation.
We booked the place through the Mister B&B website and it ended up being wonderful. It is a converted room beneath a residence complete with kitchenette and bathroom. The hosts were not there, but it didn't matter as we had our own entryway. Ted and I were not very tired, so we walked down to the nearby eat street to see if anything was open.
Fortunately for us there was a pizzeria still open which was just what we felt like. Despite the fact it was so late, we weren't really that tired and decided to go grocery shopping as well! Around 1.30am, we figured we should try to sleep since we had a full day in Vancouver the next day.Lue lisää
Honolulu to Sydney
29. lokakuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Sigh, today was the day I had to head back home. After breakfast, Ted and I said our farewells before I caught an Uber to the airport. That transport option didn't end up being a good idea, as it was a lot more pricey than expected. Once at the airport though, check-in was easy although the seat I was allocated wasn't all that great. The agent suggested I speak to the agent at the boarding gate to see if I could get a better option.
That ended up being a good idea, as the boarding gate agent gave me two seats to myself towards the back of the plane. Once onboard, I befriended the crew who were really friendly. Even though business class hadn't been available, they still gave me champagne, a comfort pack and better snacks. It was also enjoyable just getting to know the crew too.
Once home it wasn't long before I unpacked and was thinking about our next trip. Well maybe not but for now, this was the end of this holiday for me! :-)Lue lisää
Honolulu
28. lokakuuta 2017, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Since we're still on eastern USA time, Ted and I woke early today but managed to fall back asleep again. Even though it was still early when we eventually rose, it ended up being fine because we went down to the waterfront and fed the fish some bread Ted had bought. After that we decided we should go for breakfast too, and headed to one of my favourite places IHOP.
After having a breakfast of crepes, Ted wouldn't let me order anything else even though I was still hungry. We went to Food Pantry to get some food instead even though we are only here a short while. Ted doesn't have to return to work for a few days and asked if he could stay longer. As much as I'd like to as well, it seemed like a reasonable request considering I took 4 weeks off earlier this year to study in Valencia, Spain.
After taking the groceries back to our room, we went up onto the rooftop balcony of our hotel to check out the view - for the amount of money we've paid we are really impressed with this place. Even our room has a view of the beach. We then walked to Ala Moana which wasn't an easy task as Ted's sciatica has been playing up again. After looking around the shops, I had a great lunch of ahi fish before we caught the bus back to the accommodation.
After having a nap it started to rain, which doesn't happen a lot when we're in Hawaii. We thought a Mexican dinner sounded like a good option so we showered and dressed and headed out to a restaurant that we had fond memories of. Well, the memories faded slightly when we saw the price of the meals. This place had always been one of our favourite cheap eateries but things have definitely changed. Ted gave the waitress the excuse that we were at the wrong restaurant so we could make a quick exit!
Our dinner ended up being a nice cheap meal served from a row of vans catering to tourists. It might sound tacky but we really liked it. We did however end up taking it back to our room as the rain became worse. Of course the only other thing to do was visit Hula's downstairs for beers. We didn't see anyone we know, but as always, we still had a great night with the locals.Lue lisää
Miami to Honolulu
27. lokakuuta 2017, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We didn't really get to sleep in today, knowing we had to make our way to Miami airport for our next flight. As expected, the breakfast area was completely chaotic, as everyone tried to cram in their last onboard meal before having to depart. Fortunately the disembarkation was an easy process and we managed to hail a taxi not long after.
The taxi ride was something of a scam though. We didn't have the exact amount of money and asked to pay electronically. The driver claimed the electronic machine was not working (whatever) and when it came to giving us change, he conveniently didn't have enough (meaning his tip was more than we'd planned on giving). We tried not to let it piss us off too much, and concentrated on our journey ahead.
On our flight with American Airlines, the crew kindly us complimentary food again (just snacks but we were very grateful) before we arrived in LA. Our original plan was to fly from Los Angeles to Sydney but since business class was looking unlikely (even economy wasn't that rosy), we made a change of plans and decided to go via Hawaii instead (which was our original plan of getting here - so our holiday has been reversed)!
Our first option of flying United Airlines was wide open so before you knew it, we already had tickets for the flight! Connecting to the UA terminal was easy, so Ted went online and booked us some last minute accommodation through Air BNB.
Our flight on UA was pleasant and I passed the time watching "Guardians of the Galaxy 2". When we arrived in Honolulu, we decided to take a taxi as we couldn't find any wifi to use Uber. Our accommodation ended up being an apartment in the Waikiki Grand Hotel, which is the same building as our favourite Hawaiian venue Hula's. What a coincidence! And even better is the location, with a view of the beach and Diamond Head. What luck!
After today's long day we weren't really in the mood to go partying, but we still have tomorrow to explore.Lue lisää
Key West
26. lokakuuta 2017, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
As promised yesterday, today we arrived earlier into Key West. It has been several years since we've been here, and it's definitely one of our favourite places.
After breakfast, we were fortunate to join the much smaller non USA residents queue, meaning the disembarkation didn't take long at all. The weather was surprisingly cool here which was more pleasant than the humidity of the Bahamas. What was also a surprise is how well the place looks after the recent hurricanes that were here last month. Walking around the streets exploring was half the fun but seeing the locals ended up being most of the entertainment.
When we stopped for lunch, we went to a local shrimp restaurant and sat on the upstairs balcony. Whilst there, the appropriately named Frenzy Fest was starting. Basically it was like the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, but with more straight people. If you wanted to be totally nude and just wear body paint you could do it. If you wanted to dress like the Cat in the Hat (like one local) you could do it. If you wanted to ride on a Harley Davidson topless you could do it. Ted thought I was offended by what I saw. He was partly right considering the people that chose to wear just body paint didn't exactly have the bodies to make it appealing!
Ted had been in pain for a few days from sciatica so we found a local masseuse hoping it would help. Even though it was expensive, we didn't mind supporting local business after their recent tourist slump. Whilst this was happening I happily sat in the bar across the road with the locals and a few beers.
Ted had considered hiring a motorcycle but I wasn't really sure if the outlying areas would be that appealing after the damage they've suffered recently. We ended up finding some markets down by the water which we looked through before returning to the ship.
For dinner that night I was lucky to have shrimp again. One of the things I will miss about the cruise is the amazing food. There was meant to be another GLBTQ gathering tonight but once again it was just ourselves, the two American guys and the guy from Peru! Although at least this time the venue was much nicer, namely the rooftop bar overlooking the deck. Tomorrow we head back to Los Angeles and then onwards to Australia. The end of another cruise!Lue lisää
Caribbean Sea
25. lokakuuta 2017, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Today didn't really go to plan, as we didn't quite make it to our destination! After not much of a sleep-in, Ted and I talked about what we could do when we arrived at Cococay today. Since it's an island owned exclusively by the cruise ship company, the only thing that sounded like fun was exploring the island, and the beach-side buffet lunch. As it turned out, we didn't do either, as poor weather meant the cruise line weren't able to transport us to the island via tender.
The Captain did a PA announcing the news to the passengers but truthfully, no-one seemed that bothered. I think the disappointment was probably less due to the fact that you can't control the weather, and it meant we would arrive in Key West earlier tomorrow. Therefore today ended up being a lazy day where we did strenuous activities like eating lunch, eating dinner, going to trivia, going to the gym and reading in the room. We did however catch up with Leonard and Mike for $1 mimosas at the bar and bummed around the adults only pool with them.
Since the movie they were showing up on deck tonight was "Wonder Woman", we headed up there to watch it before blowing $10 at the casino. Tomorrow we arrive at Key West, Florida - a place we've visited before but one we're happy to visit again.Lue lisää
Nassau, Bahamas
24. lokakuuta 2017, Bahama ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
After an awesome sleep, Ted and I could happily add another country to our list - the Bahamas! As part of the beverage package I purchased, I am entitled to all the bottles of water and orange juice I can take, so I took enough waters for our excursion to Nassau. We arrived at about 8am and headed out not long after breakfast.
As expected the place was humid! One thing that was a surprise was how low key it is though. Apart from the expected hawkers at the port, there really isn't as much commercialism as I'd expected. Before arriving, we'd made a rough itinerary of which sights to see, as purchasing a tour when everything is walkable seemed like a waste. We first went to the Queen's Staircase where we had fun trying to figure out how to work our selfie stick. Afterwards we headed to nearby Fort Fincastle. Ted headed inside first to see if it was worth the cost. As it happened, it wasn't! (Nice view though).
We headed back down to the main part of town where we found a bar conveniently placed right near the beach. Ted wanted to go for a swim whereas I was happy to sit with a beer. We also wandered through a store that sold rum cake and had great air conditioning. We spent some time looking for T-shirts to no avail and finished off our time in the Bahamas going to a small waterview restaurant where Ted enjoyed jerk chicken.
I know this probably doesn't sound like much but truthfully there wasn't a lot to do! Even though Nassau wasn't exactly bursting with excitement, there was something still nice about going to a place that wasn't ruined by tourism and still had locals walking around doing their daily duties. Before leaving Australia, we had already decided we wouldn't be visiting the nearby Atlantis resort, as we preferred to give our tourist dollars to the locals, not big business.
When we headed back to the ship, we stopped to take a picture of the awesome Disney cruise ship before boarding ours next door. I settled in for an afternoon of Starbucks and trivia whilst we both headed for a nap afterwards. After dinner, we were keen to see one of the shows onboard, so we went to the onboard theatre for an evening of entertainment. According to the ship's programme, there was meant to be a GLBTQ get together at one of the bars. It probably would've been easier to mingle if it hadn't been at an outdoor bar with hundreds of people milling around. There weren't many people there but we did meet two guys from the USA, Leonard and Mike, as well as a guy from Peru. We decided to go for a drink at one of the nearby nightclubs but since it wasn't pumping that much, made it back to our room by 1am!Lue lisää
Nashville to Fort Lauderdale
23. lokakuuta 2017, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
We started early today thanks to a 4am wake-up. Ted unfortunately didn't have a good sleep as he was sick the whole night. Getting to the airport wasn't as easy as we'd hoped as the original Uber we requested was over half an hour away. We finally found one closer and were on our way.
After checking in, we had a pretty decent breakfast of coffee and waffles before heading to our flight. Our flight on Southwest was far from memorable, so it was something of a relief when we reached Fort Lauderdale. Well, at least it was until we tried to find our airport shuttle. Continuing our tradition of always having dodgy airport shuttles, our over-worked, stressed out, elderly Hispanic driver finally turned up in a plain white van to collect us. First however, we had to wait for other passengers who similarly couldn't recognise that the plain white van was their shuttle service. After all this confusion, we were finally departed.
Our check-in for the cruise was actually quite smooth and simple until we reached the counter. When the agent couldn't find the USA entry stamp in Ted's passport, they were not going to check us in. It was exactly the kind of stress and confusion we didn't need, so we quickly retrieved the passport and managed to find the stamp in a few minutes. Once the initial panic had waned, we headed towards our cruise ship!
We have previously sailed with Celebrity, and this cruise company is Royal Caribbean. Whilst the boat is quite fine, it still looks like the Walmart variety in comparison! We previously had a balcony room on Celebrity but the window room we have on this ship is fine. We tried to have a snooze on the boat but unfortunately all the passengers were called to the deck prior to departure for the emergency drill. It wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't have to stand in the blazing sun to do it!
Since a buffet lunch was available, we wasted no time in going to the zoo, um dining room, to get something to eat. With Ted being diabetic and myself being vegetarian, fortunately there were still plenty of food options for both of us. We had a walk around the ship to orientate ourselves, and could see how it is definitely different to the Celebrity cruise. It isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as some of the things on Celebrity seemed a bit too high end.
We considered going to bingo but at $33 a game, changed our mind. After our buffet lunch, we decided a buffet dinner was the perfect way to finish the evening. After this big day, it looks like an early night is the best option!Lue lisää
Nashville
22. lokakuuta 2017, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
After a slight sleep in today, we still had another day to explore Nashville. After having breakfast in the kitchen (coffee and cakes!) we walked towards the Gulch, which is more of an upscale neighbourhood of Nashville. On the way we passed through a farmer's market and one of the large parks, which made us grateful we are staying in the nicer part of the city.
The Gulch ended up being a really nice area with art galleries, restaurants and high-end pubs. We ended up staying for lunch at one of the pubs before catching (yet another) Uber back to our accommodation. Ted needed to have a nap, so he took a time out. The hosts of our accommodation asked if we'd like to join them for drinks nearby, along with their friends Brian and Angie. Since hanging out with the locals is always one of our favourite things, we definitely couldn't decline.
I'm not sure of the name of the outdoor bar, but it was definitely popular. There was a local sporting team that turned up there after their game, so there was plenty of people. One of the hosts from our B&B became really drunk so we ended up leaving and going for dinner nearby. Brian lost his mobile phone but didn't seem as concerned about it as we were! The hosts went back early (as the bar staff were refusing them service), so we stayed and had a few drinks with Brian and Angie. Since our accommodation was so close we were able to walk back. We have an early flight tomorrow so we're already packed for the next part of our adventure.Lue lisää
Gatlinburg to Nashville
21. lokakuuta 2017, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Today we had an early start, as we needed to return our rental car to Nashville airport by lunchtime. Fortunately we would be crossing a date line during our drive, meaning we would gain an hour too, giving us an hour sleep in! Our drive today was somewhat uneventful, particularly since we didn't get a chance to stop in Knoxville on the way. I was only really interested in getting a photo in front of the Sunsphere anyway, just to see if anyone could remember that memorable Simpsons episode.
Getting to the airport was near impossible, as there were whole sections of the freeway completely closed (no idea why). When we finally arrived we called for an Uber to drop us off at our accommodation. The neighbourhoods surrounding the airport weren't exactly the type you'd want to break down in, so it was good to see our accommodation was in a much more desirable area.
We are staying at a guesthouse that Ted found on the Mister B&B website. We arrived before we were able to check-in, so we asked if we could leave our bags in order to explore downtown. We again called for an Uber as downtown was not really walkable from our accommodation.
I'm not sure if I was missing something but to me, Nashville has no charm whatsoever. My impression was just a whole lot of people getting drunk in pubs playing the occasional country and western music, and the occasional beer-mobile going down the street. The town also wasn't that attractive, and lacked any of the character that makes New Orleans appealing. Maybe I just didn't get it. We walked down to the waterfront to have a look and again, it did nothing for me.
After getting lunch at the appropriately named Pita Pit, we went to the Country and Western Museum to see what it was like. Since neither of us are interested in C&W, paying a lot of money to look at displays we didn't understand seemed like a waste. We felt similar when seeing the Johnny Cash museum. One thing that interested us somewhat was the Goo Goo shop which is one of the early confectioners in Nashville.
We walked back to our accommodation in the now hot weather (shouldn't have worn jeans!) to meet the hosts of the accommodation. They also have a dog named Rex who immediately recognised us as dog lovers. We did some laundry and rested before getting ready to go to the Grand Ole Opry tonight. Since we've spent a bit of money to see the show, we didn't feel guilty about not seeing any of the museums today.
As it turned out, the drive to the Opry was awful. Our driver seemed to take forever to get there, meaning our plan to have a formal dinner first was replaced by having a fast food meal instead. Even though we were among the youngest visitors to the show and our tickets were in the back row, we still enjoyed it. Some of the entertainers were great and it did show the appeal of the C&W scene. I am glad we did this or our trip to Nashville may have been a complete disappointment.
We were keen to go out afterwards, so we called another Uber (almost impossible to find with all the people everywhere after the show!) and headed into a venue called Tribe. There was definitely a good, older crowd there and we managed to talk to a few of the locals. We probably didn't have the late night we'd expected, but it was still good to go out in the Country and Western capital of the United States!Lue lisää
Dollywood
20. lokakuuta 2017, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Today was a day I'd been looking forward to for a long time, as I finally got to visit the amusement park created by one of my all time favourite singers/celebrities. We started the day moderately early as we wanted to be sure we would be at the Park for the opening, before the crowds became huge. As it turned out, the park never ended up being too bad anyway, which made the day a lot more enjoyable.
Dollywood is so different to any other amusement park we've seen - it's almost like Disneyland meets Timber Town. There was a lot of emphasis on local arts and crafts and traditional country fare, without the animated characters walking around the park. There was even a chapel there if you wanted to attend a service. It took a while to get used to but truthfully, I loved it. It was great to be in an amusement park that had a lot of charm and character to it.
One of the good deals we got was the photo card, which once purchased, meant that every photo taken in the park was inclusive. This meant that Ted and I never passed up a single photo opportunity! We went on the majority of the rides too, except the ones that were catered mainly to kids. There were also a lot of attractions centered around Dolly too, including seeing her tour bus, and the story of her life and achievements. Food was definitely not a problem either as we found an awesome buffet restaurant with all that low-fat food that the south of the USA is known for!
After riding on the Snowy Mountain River Rampage we were completely soaked, so we relaxed in the sun before continuing through the park. Since we were able to return to the park if we wanted, we headed into nearby Pigeon Forge to have a look around. We are glad we didn't stay there instead, as it is really huge. It is almost like a low-grade Las Vegas, with its endless hotels and attractions. Whilst Gatlinburg is easy to walk around, Pigeon Forge would be impossible without a car.
Ted dropped me off at the Titanic display whilst he went to look around town. The Titanic display was wonderful (and still better than the Queen Mary at Long Beach)! I've always been interested in anything Titanic, and this attraction recreated cabins from the ship, told stories about the passengers onboard, gave an idea about life on the ship, and presented a timeline about the ship's fateful journey. It was definitely worth the entry and I would consider seeing it again some day.
Since Dollywood was open in the evenings for its "Halloween LumiNights Display", we went back to the park to see it all lit up. Unlike during the day, this was one time when the crowds were huge! It was still great to see even though the throngs of people were everywhere. Ted and I went back to another buffet style restaurant for dinner. I am so glad we did because we got to meet Miss Lillian the Chicken Lady, who sang a song for me on her banjo and gave me a chicken blessing. I was very honored!
Dollywood turned out to be better than we'd expected, so I'd definitely consider coming back again. Tomorrow we continue our journey to the state of Tennessee!Lue lisää
Hanki oma matkailuprofiilisi
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